Setting Pride Aside
by serendipity9861
Summary: After Chef and Chris realize they've been stolen from again, they immediately throw Duncan and Courtney in the boathouse for the night. With Courtney icing Duncan out, it makes for a long night. (Set in Total Drama All-Stars, One-Shot)


**A/N So, I have been missing writing for this duo so much. But I didn't want to commit to a series unless I knew I had time to fully develop it. So, here is a little one shot for you. I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to review. I wouldn't mind receiving prompt suggestions for these two. Enjoy :)**

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Courtney was ready to gag. She hadn't been in this damn boathouse since season one of this awful television series. The smell was horrific. You could literally hear the worms moving in their buckets (which sounded much too alike with some of Chef's "dishes"). Worst of all, she was stuck in here with the one person she couldn't stand to be around—Duncan.

Duncan had plopped down on the ground and leaned his head back onto the wall as soon as Chef had slammed the door. If Courtney thought she was the only one who could ice out someone, she was dead wrong. He was tired of trying to get her attention. He had already spent too much time trying to yank the pole out of her ass to get her to loosen up and actually be a fraction of fun.

You might be wondering how they got here. The answer was their lovely contestant Alejandro. He decided that the All-Star winner house didn't have enough luxury so he swiped the fudge from Chris's setup. With Courtney and Duncan being the only two who had ever treaded into that territory, the blame was immediately placed upon them and now they were stuck in the boathouse for who knows how long.

Duncan peeked his eyes open and saw Courtney sitting on the other side of the room. She was running her hands up and down her thighs, she always did that whenever she got nervous. He remembered having to literally park the car and grab both of her hands to get her to stop on their way to meet his parents. He let out a sigh, this hero shit was messing with his head. He shouldn't care how Courtney was feeling. But instead of continuing stonewalling her, what was he gonna do? He was gonna back down like a loser and speak first.

"You good?"

Her head shot up and she blew the rebellious strand of hair out of her face. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, "I'm fine."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "Geez princess, forget I asked."

When she didn't respond it only made him grow even more restless. He had no clue how long they had been stuck in here, but it was too long for his liking if he wasn't even going to get a rise out of Courtney.

He took out his knife and started etching into a wall. "You can't ice me out forever," he muttered over his shoulder.

"I can try," Courtney stated.

He was such a delinquent. He couldn't even go an hour without having to destroy something.

"God," Duncan closed his knife and stomped over to her. "Could you be any more of a bitch?"

Courtney gasped and stood up. "Could you be any more of an ass?"

"Well, I don't know. Turn around and we'll find out." He wiggled his eyebrows. He may not like her at the moment, but even that wouldn't stop him from making lewd comments about her.

Her eyes narrowed into slits. She usually never cursed aloud, but he brought out the worst in her (or the best as he would attest). "Fuck. Off."

Duncan threw up his hands and looked up to the ceiling, "Thank God, she is alive after all! I was worried there for a second, it had been too long since you had told me off."

Courtney turned around and pressed her temples. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't not react to him. What happened to the calm, cool, collected CIT she had been before this fiasco of a series came into her life?

"Would you just leave me alone," She pleaded. "Please."

Duncan was taken aback, she never said please. At least not to him. But he pushed on. "No, I won't leave you alone. Because thanks to Alejandro, we're stuck in here for God knows how long. And I'm tired of you acting like I don't exist. Sorry princess, but you can't always have it your way."

Something he said must have triggered her because she spun around on her heel and stuck her face in his. " _Can't always have it my way?_ I've done this dumbass show for how many seasons now, and what have I gotten out of it? A horrible reputation because these producers decide to edit us all to how they want the public to perceive us. A relationship that ended in my boyfriend cheating on me. Being isolated from my peers because I'm stuck between being famous and infamous everywhere I go. People either hate me or love me. And if it's the latter, it's for all the wrong reasons. Yeah, Duncan, you're right. I can't always have it my way. But for once, _for just one time_ , I would like to have control over what this show puts out. And I'd like that to be me moving on from this toxic relationship."

She panted, catching her breath. She took a few steps back after realizing how much she had invaded his space. The room was uncomfortably silent. Duncan scratched the back of his neck. It wasn't that hard for him after the filming was done for each season. Most girls wanted to get with him, and his buddies all thought it was cool that he was on TV. He had to admit, the producers always managed to paint him in a light that made the public like him, or at the very least tolerate him.

"I didn't know it was bad for you after the show was over." He said simply. What else was he supposed to say? "It seemed ok when we hung out after filming."

She let out a sad laugh. "Of course it was, Duncan. People only liked me when I was with you. Apparently, without you, I really am just a bitch with a pole too far up her ass."

He gulped, it honestly hurt him hearing her refer to herself in such a way. And he kinda regretted referring to her like that. He took a few steps towards her, reaching out to her. "Come on, Court. That's not true."

"No, Duncan, it is," She put her hand up to keep him from coming any closer to her. "And you know what? I totally get it. I completely understand why people wouldn't like me after watching this show. What I hate more than anything, _anything that has come out of this damn show_ is having to admit to myself that _I. Was. Wrong._ I was wrong, Duncan. I look back at past seasons and see how miserable you were. How exhausted you were after our all-nighter in Total Drama Action. How you literally were so scared of my return that you fainted. How you would rather find solace with Gwen than talk to me about how it wasn't working out between us. And I absolutely hate myself for making someone I love unhappy."

She threw a hand up to her mouth. Tears had spilled over her eyelids. He stood there shocked. She loved him. But she was crying because of him. It felt like someone was pressing a weight down on his chest. It felt like Owen was sitting on his chest to be completely honest. Courtney did a lot of things, but she never admitted she was wrong.

"Princess-"

"St-stop calling me that! I can't - I can't hear you say that without feeling like I'm going to choke. I miss being that happy. But I let my own selfishness ruin it."

He could not believe he was about to do this. This show really had made him go soft. Or maybe it was the girl in front of him that made him go soft.

"Courtney," He grabbed her arm and made her look at him. Which only made it harder for him to keep his cool, seeing her upset always made something inside of him break. "Our relationship was toxic. But you aren't the only one to blame. I treated you like shit. I didn't even have the balls to tell you something was wrong, instead, I just tried to make up for the lack of satisfaction with Gwen. Which - which wasn't fair to either of you. And I'm sorry for that."

Her eyes widened. "You're sorry?"

"Of course I am. Why else would I be working so hard to get your attention? I miss our push and pull. It wasn't all bad."

She bit her lip and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry too."

He gripped her tightly as he held her to his body. It was the first time they shared a friendly touch in years.

And yeah, maybe the smell of shit was unbearable. But sacrificing one night to the boathouse was worth it for both of them. Because for the first time since they had known each other, they put their pride aside and admitted they were wrong.


End file.
